- Scientific notation (also known as Standard index notation) is a convenient way to write very small or large numbers.
- In this notation, numbers are separated into two parts, a real number with an absolute value between 1 and 10 and an order of magnitude value written as a power of 10.
Significant Figure
- In measurement, significant figures relate the certainty of the measurement.
- As the number of significant figures increases, the certainty of the measurement increase, which means we are more certain about what we have measured.
Example:
Speed of light in a vacuum = 299 792 458 ms-1 = 3.00 x 108 ms-1 (to 3 significant figures)
Speed of light in a vacuum = 299 792 458 ms-1 = 3.00 x 108 ms-1 (to 3 significant figures)
Example:
Write the number of significance figure (s.f.) of the following value:
Write the number of significance figure (s.f.) of the following value:
- 135 m, (____s.f.)
- 0.013s (____s.f.)
- 0.2000A (____s.f.)
- 25.10 g (____s.f.)
- 3700km (____s.f.)
- 0.003kg (____s.f.)
- 1.54 10-3 (____s.f.)
- 0.001200 (____s.f.)
- 135 m, ( 3 s.f.)
- 0.013s ( 2 s.f.)
- 0.2000A ( 4 s.f.)
- 25.10 g ( 4 s.f.)
- 3700km ( 4 s.f.)
- 0.003kg ( 1 s.f.)
- 1.54 x 10-3 ( 3 s.f.)
- 0.001200 ( 4 s.f.)